The initial goal of this project was to make the game darker, but the final goal was to recreate the pre-release footage as much as possible without sacrificing FPS. The mod was tested on a GTX 660 and never dropped below 60.

Installation: Download Reshade https://sfx.thelazy.net/static/media/downloads/ReShade_0.19.0_Public_Beta_with_SweetFX_2.0_Beta_8.7z
Click the exe in the shade download and locate the DS2 exe.
Place Sweetfx preset in sweetfx folder in the DS2 game file.
Enjoy.

Note: Vendrick boss fight requires torch, should not be a problem for the average Dark Souls Player.
The Pilgrim of Dark missions require torch, so be ready, but the Darklurker S.O.B. is still "easy" to fight ;)
If the game is too dark, enter the sweetfx setting ini and change the black level to 18 or 16